A Review of the Book "Broken Ribs and Popcorn" by Geoff Kirbyson

Title: Broken Ribs & Popcorn

Author: Geoff Kirbyson

Publisher: Great Plains Publications

Year: 2021

440 pages

I am a huge Winnipeg Jets fan. I remember watching game after game throughout the 80's and 90's, some of them from front seat at ice level at the old Winnipeg Arena with my dad, and wondering why we just couldn't beat those darn Edmonton Oilers. Of course, the Oilers were a magnificent team back then, but I still kept rooting for my home team!

When I saw "Broken Ribs and Popcorn" on the shelves at my local bookstore, the tag line really caught my attention. How did the Winnipeg Jets become the best team in the NHL's most offensive era to not win the Stanley Cup? As a super fan from that era, I was excited to find out.

However, this book was an absolute horrible read. The writing is atrocious and felt like reading run-on sentences. The stories skipped around and honestly, there really wasn't much talking about the Jets. There was a ton of story about the Oilers and a few other teams and a whole bunch about John Ferguson, but for my appetite to learn about the Jets from the 80's, there wasn't nearly enough story. I was surprised to read that Geoff Kirbyson was a sports writer! "Broken Ribs and Popcorn" felt amateur and peripheral.

There were parts I still enjoyed reading because there were pieces of history I didn't know about, so at least I learned a few things. However, if you're looking for a history book about the Winnipeg Jets, this is not the book to read. I haven't read many books I wouldn't recommend to others, but this is definitely one of them. I'm not even sure I'll bother keeping it in my collection.